Aincrad Cadet Corp Contest Submission

Kazuto Kirigaya laid down on his bed, turning off the lights as the day began to end. His Amusphere, loaded with the latest new game, was on and ready to be used. He found himself smiling at the idea of being a beta tester again—a "beater" as they had called him. Once comfortable, he closed his eyes.

"Link start!"

The system set up the same as always, different colors flashing as they tested the five main senses: vision, hearing, taste, touch, and smell. Once all of his information was implemented into the game, creating his character, the infamous Kirito, he was transported to the game's starting point. He appeared in the center of a large town, surrounded by buildings with brick roofs and castle like structures. Encasing everything was a large wall, appearing to be at least fifty meters tall.

"So this is Titan Online, huh?" he mused, looking around before finally examining his appearance.

Abandoning his black attire, he was dressed in a white attire with a brown jacket. A harness full of belts covered his body. Two large mechanisms were attached to his hips. They each held four swords and had two cylindrical containers that all seemed to be connected. What was it this gear was called? 3D Maneuver Gear, he recalled. He missed his Elucidator or Dark Repulser, but the weapons in this game would have to do

From what he knew about the game, the goal was to defeat Titans and protect the town for as long as possible. At first, all was quiet. Next thing he knew, a shadow loomed above him and he stared into the ugly looking face of a human like creäture towering over him. With swords drawn, Kirito prepared to fight the monster when a startling thought occurred.

"Oh crap! How do you use this thing?" he flailed, desperately trying to get access to the menu for help. No use. Aside from the logout button, only a health bar flashing his name popped up.

"Watch out!" A blur appeared beside him and hoisted him up into the air, just as the large hand slammed into the ground. Kirito hit the roof of a nearby building hard and groaned. A young boy with dark brown hair stood in front of him.

"What the hell were you thinking? You're as good as dead on the ground," he scolded before leaping off. A wire shot out from his gear, digging into the back of the Titan's neck. As he was drawn towards it, he pulled out his swords and slashed the nape, the Titan's weak point. Blood spurted from the wound, staining the young man's clothes, and the monster collapsed to the ground.

"Awesome." Kirito stared in shock as his rescuer joined him once again. The blood was already vanishing from his body.

"It's easy once you get used to it," the boy said modestly, holding out his hand. "I'm Eren Jaeger."

"You must be a beater, too," Kirito mused.

"Huh?"

"Er, nothing. I'm Kirito, thanks for helping me out there." The two boys shook hands, exchanging smiles.

"You must be new to the 3D gear, huh?" Eren guessed. "Okay, well I'll give you a brief rundown of how everything works."

As Eren explained the new world to Kirito, he started to get the hang of things. The handgrips had triggers that sent out wires. Once they connected with something, either a wall, tree, or even a Titan's skin, the system automatically pulled you towards it. You had a limited amount of gas and once that was out you were screwed. After practicing a few times, Kirito proved to be a natural at this maneuver. It was almost better than flying.

"Not bad," Eren smiled. "Better than how I started out. I bashed my head real good the first few times."

"Can't say I blame you. This stuff is tougher than it—"

Lightning crackled in the sky, followed by a deafening boom and quaking of the earth. Both Kirito and Eren stumbled to keep their balance. Steam appeared near the peak of the wall and once it cleared, a flesh ridden face appeared, looming down on the town. Kirito had heard of this Titan, a Titan taller than the wall, taller than any other Titan known around.

The Colossal Titan.

As if kicking a soccer ball, the Colossal Titan obliterated the door to bits, heavily damaging the town and creating an enormous hole in the wall. One by one, smaller Titans came through, preparing themselves on their soon to be all you could eat human buffet.

"We've got to stop them," Kirito determined, watching Eren jet off before he even finished. "Hey, wait! Eren!"

Kirito launched off after his partner and the two of them sliced through any Titans that crossed their paths. Most of them were predictable, which made it easy to deceive and kill them. However, there were a scant amount of Abnormal Titans, which Kirito learned that they were simply irregular Titans, ones who had a mind of their own. The first Abnormal nearly ate Kirito if he hadn't been fast enough. In his peripheral vision, he saw an innocent character about to be devoured.

"Hold on!" Kirito roared rushing to his aid. He sheathed his blades before stretching out his hand. After catching him, Kirito yanked with all his strength and threw the young soldier out of the Titan's mouth. Unfortunately, nothing could save him as a hand closed in, ready to trap him.

"Kirito!" Eren called from nearby. He viciously slashed at the Titan's neck. The mouth went slack and all movements stopped. Gravity started to pull it down which gave Kirito enough time to jump out safely.

As exciting as this game sounded at first, Kirito regretted it when he realized a large amount of his comrade were dying in front of him. Most were being eaten alive, but some were more fortunate than others and died in other ways. It was different from SAO—at least they were still alive in the real world—but terrifying nonetheless. He was glad he told Asuna not to play. By the time Kirito and Eren reached the top of the gate, the Colossal Titan still remained, lingering their as if on purpose. Kirito wondered if this was the first boss of the game.

"Come on, let's get to the top of the wall!" Eren propelled forward, Kirito right on his heels, and within a few minutes they were at the top, having an up close view of the grotesque creature.

"Alright, what's next? What kind of attack patterns does this thing have?" Kirito asked.

"It's a Titan, they don't have attack patterns. They do whatever the hell they want," Eren said.

"Then how do we kill it? Do you have a plan?"

"I do, actually. Are you ready?"

"You bet. Let's take this thing down!" Kirito rushed off the edge and lunged into battle with his foe. Eren followed suit in his attacks but the Colossal Titan's skin proved to be tougher than they anticipated. What should've been deep cuts only appeared as mere scratches.

"Damn it. This thing is tougher than Gleam Eyes," Kirito grumbled, switching out duller swords with fresh ones. He shot a wire out to the Colossal Titan's arm and moved forward so he was at the weak spot. Eren was closer, however and but instead of using his swords, he simply brought his hand to his mouth. The last thing Kirito saw was Eren bite down before he vanished in steam and light, similar to what the Colossal Titan had just down. When the steam cleared, another Titan appeared, considerably smaller than the Colossal, with chin length wispy black hair. Arching its back, the Titan roared ferociously before attacking the Colossal. It took Kirito a moment to realize that that was Eren in that form.

"It must be a unique ability in this game," he pondered, watching the two battle. Even though Eren was much smaller, it didn't stop him from giving his all. Kirito did his best to stay out of the way, but stay close enough to support him when he had a chance. The Colossal slammed Eren against the wall, pinning him there. Debris showered the ground below and Eren roared as he tried to escape but to no avail. Kirito analyzed the situation briefly before it sunk in.

"Switch!" Kirito shouted, on instinct more than anything, rushing in. His wires connected with the flesh of the neck. Steam exploded on contact, the intense heat burning his hands, making it difficult for him to focus. But Kirito's willpower and resolve were unmoving as he pushed forward. He was never one to give up and wasn't about to start now. With a battle cry, he spun and pierced the muscles with his blades. He dragged his weapons horizontally, crying out until the came out the other side. Blood stained his cheek and hands. The Colossal ceased moving, his arms dropping down to the side before plummeting to the ground, as if in slow motion. The corpse soon began to dissolve.

Distracted for a moment, Kirito remembered he was falling and quickly made his way back to the wall. Panting, he sat down, wiping sweat from his brow. He noticed that Eren was still in his Titan form sitting down. No roars, no fighting, just sitting as if it was waiting for something. He wondered how Eren got out of that form and after a few minutes of silence, he checked through the menu to find answers. After finding the correct article, Kirito learned he had to be physically cut and torn out of the nape of his Titan body. He doubted his surgical abilities but nonetheless made his way down to Eren's body.

Meticulously, Kirito began cutting around the nape. Once it was deep enough, he finally laid eyes on Eren's unmoving body. It looked as if his body was merged the flesh on the inside. Kirito gripped his back and hauled with all his strength.

"Eren! Hey, Eren! Are you okay? Can you hear me?" Kirito shouted. "Wake up!"

With a hard yank, one arm was free. The rest of his body came easily after that. Soon the body began to disintegrate. Kirito brought his unconscious partner back up to the top of the wall, surveying the area. With the Colossal Titan gone, the other Titans retreated out of the town. In the center of the vicinity, a larger banner appeared with the word Congratulations on it. The first level was cleared.

"That was just the first level. Wow…" Eren stirring behind him made Kirito turn. "Hey, man. You okay?"

Eren's teal eyes fluttered open as he regained consciousness. "Yeah." He groaned as he sat up. "That always wipes me out afterward."

"Is that some kind of extra ability or something?" Kirito asked.

Eren hesitated before answering. "Yeah, sure. Anyway, uh, so what did you think?"

"This place is awesome. This is going to be the best game ever, I can tell." Kirito checked the time. It was getting late. He needed to have some dinner. "I've got to call it a day."

Eren nodded, smiling. "Yeah, I've got to go too. You'll be back tomorrow?"

"You bet." Kirito accessed the main menu and hit the logout button. Eren logged out as well. Their bodies started to illuminate in a brilliant bluish green light. Gradually the light disappeared as the two new friends returned to their own lives in the real world.